I fancied myself a pretty competent independent traveller but things became shamefully co-dependent once I got married. In a recent long flight on my own where he wouldn’t be waiting at the airport, I was a ball of nerves. What if I got lost at immigration, what if I didn’t find my bag, what if my phone didn’t work. None of those things happened. My competent grade still stands, after all. And something better happened. I started to remember who I was again.
For days and days, I returned to solo travelling like a fish to water. With music in my ears and my phone for navigation, I embraced and relished life the way I always loved it best. Lost in my own thoughts, watching human faces, soaking up the vibe of a new place, discovering new routes and places. I worked, shopped, ate, read, painted, played piano and exercised alone, made soulful new friendships and reconnected with soul friends from 20 years ago.
If it is possible to feel one’s shape return to our most authentic self, then the freedom of roaming a new space independently is the closest I feel to being home. The interior world expands when we obtain autonomy in our destiny. There is something not simply metaphorical but also literal in this sentiment. This is why the pandemic lockdown killed the spirit of so many nomadic spirits.
As my last week of this solo adventure came up, I started to feel sentimental about parting with my solitude. There is a truth in being alone- a reminder that this is our original condition, and also the condition of our end. Sometimes it is a painful and terrifying truth. And sometimes it is comforting to know that we are staying close to our truth.
Looking for The Higher Self 
I totally agree with you, in regards to solo traveling. However fun it might be traveling with a friend, a significant other, or family, there is just something magical about traveling alone. I think it’s about being completely immersed in the moment. Your attention is not divided between the sights you are seeing and having to converse with whoever you are traveling with, taking their picture, and so on.
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this is 100% what it is- being completely immersed in the moment and just absorbing it for yourself, how true! This was the luxury I so happily enjoyed 😂 by the way I love your name- Iman- I have a pendant with this word in Arabic, it gives me such courage 🌺🌺🌺
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awww, thank you 🙂 That’s interesting. Did you get the pendant on one of your trips?
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Actually it was made by Somali refugees and sold in an artisan store in Malaysia https://fugeelah.com/product/peace-necklace-lapis-lazuli/ this is another one they did and apparently they also ship abroad 🌺
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wow! That’s really beautiful.
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You’ve been reinvigorated!
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Haha indeed that is the word- reinvigorated 😊😊😊
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Bonjour! Good to hear from you (again). It’s been awhile. Beautifully written post, of course I agree with you.
Both of us being photographers (you and me), how important is it to wander the streets and squares of any city, absorbing the sights and energy, and being free to stop and take photographs at any given moment. How important is it to head off in one direction and then change one’s mind and set off in another direction. To be free to roam and do as one pleases (without having to explain to anybody) is my idea of luxury.
But at the same time, how important is it to meet up with friends, old and new, for a meal or a drink or a museum visit together. Or to just sit on a park bench and catch up with one another’s news. I’ll be doing ALL OF THE ABOVE in London.
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Ahh bonjour bonjour so good to get reconnected!! I sent you some messages on your last two posts not sure if you received and indeed its been agesss. Yes absolutely, love your description on wandering streets, absorbing energy, taking photos whenever we wish, changing directions and being free to
move at our own pace… and then of course eventually we want company too that always enriches the travel
experience. It was a blessing to be able to do that in Dubai for two months! I hope you get to do all of that just as you hoped and visualised in London! Big hugs for now 💕💕💕
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